Take Me to Wonderland
by PatientNumber10
Summary: Someone else aside from her father had understood Alice and belived in Wonderland.


**Disclaimer: **Alice in Wonderland is mine! No, not really… *sulks in a corner and grows mushrooms*

**Take Me to Wonderland**

Even before he had heard about the engagement, Hamish Ascot was already determined to have Alice Kingsley as his wife. It was a dream that had dated back when they were still, more or less, five years old.

Alice was lovely even then; always full of questions that almost boarded cynicism; a bundle of energy with an adventurous mind; gorgeous, curly hair, and eyes that made Hamish feel stupid; spurting more interesting concepts than a brilliant scientist; and an over-active imagination that made everyone worry about her sanity. Hamish had instant liking towards her, more so when tells him about her musings, which fascinated Hamish so much.

Something Alice had said, though, had frightened the young lord more than anything.

"Have you been to Wonderland, Hamish?" Alice had asked him while they were hiding behind the bushes, playing hide-and-seek, sometime after Alice had disappeared and got the police involved.

Wonderland was all Alice had talked to him about after that. He had listened intently to her stories, asking questions when a baffling concept spills out of mind like it had the same laws as gravity. Sometimes Hamish found himself wanting to go to Wonderland and asking his parents to take him there. His father, who had known Wonderland as Alice's imaginary playground, would always tell him that Hamish should ask Alice to take him there, and his mother would chide him about believing in such nonsense. Of course, Alice tried to take him there but the rabbit hole was just that, a hole in the ground where rodents lived.

Then they grew up.

Alice had talked less and less about Wonderland until she didn't even whisper anything about it. Hamish, too, changed and forgot about Wonderland, although he didn't become less interested in Alice's nonsense, he fulfilled society's requirements of a proper lord, and he did it well.

At the engagement party, Alice, who looked lovely as ever, had told him about a vision. Hamish felt frightened again. What if someone had heard that? What if they'll think Alice mad, crazy, insane? Out of sheer fright and paranoia, Hamish had told her to keep her visions to herself, which was, in his later opinion, was a tad too rude. It was like how he felt when Alice had told something when they were children. He was sure he felt the same then. It was something utterly mad and he was afraid to let anyone hear it from Alice. But Hamish was not that sure if he had told everyone that he believed it to protect Alice or if he had _knew_ it really existed.

When Alice had wondered out loud what would it feel like to fly, Hamish, with a bewildered face, tried to humor her and he actually wanted to find out why Alice would think of something like that. As a result, all he got was a vague memory of her father, breakfast, and six impossible things .He thought, idly, that Alice must have inherited her brilliant mind from her father, but that was soon washed away when Hamish saw his mother gesturing something he didn't understand. Though he knew it was a signal that commanded him back to reality. And away from something very wonderful.

Under the gazebo, as Alice ranted a about things that made no sense, he thought, beneath all his anxiety, that finally he was going to be engaged and soon to be married to his beloved Alice.

Then, Alice ran away.

Oh, Hamish had thought, she ran away. Then, he felt stupid again. Of course she would run away. She wouldn't want to be engaged to Hamish. He was dull, and unimaginative, and proper, and stiff, and ordinary, and he didn't believe in anything she believed in, not really. But he tried to believe because they came from her. He was angry, confused, depressed, and strangely very, very happy. Alice won't marry him and be forced to change, she'll continue to be the girl Hamish had always found so endearing. It didn't matter that they were not together; as long as Alice stayed the same Hamish will always love her.

After a while, when Alice, gashed, dirty, and sweaty, had come back with an excuse of falling down a hole and hitting her head, Hamish realized, somehow, where she had gone to. When Alice declared that he was not the right man for her, emotions sparked to life inside him. He resisted the urge to smile and agree and then cry.

Hamish watched Alice climb down the stairs, and walk pass him, daydreaming. She had a beautiful smile on her lips, something Hamish had remembered being the one she wore when she has to tell the world something very incredible.

"Did you–" he stopped, frightened again. What if he was wrong? What if that was not it?

She turned around and looked at him quizzically and patiently, waiting for his question.

He hesitated and then, "Have you been to Wonderland again?"

Alice grinned, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world and is keeping her laughter from escaping. "It was a mistake. I misheard," she said to Hamish, still grinning. It didn't make sense. Hamish felt his face fall, realizing that he had said something crazy to his beloved Alice, who must be thinking Hamish was retarded. So it wasn't Wonderland then… "It was actually Underland."

The lord stared at Alice's smile. She turned around and walked through the front door. She waved and said, "Maybe I could bring you there with me next time?"

The door closed.

Hamish stared at the door then at the floor. He decided that no one could replace his beloved Alice in the world and that he liked "Wonderland" better.

**A/N: **I thought I was weird when I decided to make a Hamish/Alice fic, but then I saw quite a few of them in AiW's archive. I only read two and they were very tragically touching. Although I would be lying if I said that I was inspired when I saw them; I already finish this story when I found out about those Hamish/Alice fics. I hope someone, at least, liked this.


End file.
